Scirocco- loss of acceleration/engine light

[Conrad mahon]

Volkswagen Scirocco
1.4L TSI
2010
109k miles


Hi all, last time I received some great advice so hoping to get help here before going back to another mechanic.

Since November last year I suddenly noticed a drop in power when in 5th and 6th gear. The revs would be between 3000 and 4000 going at 80mph+ but suddenly it would feel like Iv lost all power and the revs would drop slightly but then climb up to almost 5000 with foot to the floor and going max 70 and struggles on any elevation. I would need to downshift but struggle to get the power again. This seems to be happening once im on a motorway for more than 10 minutes or so. This never happened before and now happens almost every time.

I presumed it was a slipping clutch and a mechanic agreed but after he did some other work on my car, it turns out he’s a cowboy so I don’t trust his opinion as he is only after money. I brought it to another mechanic I know when visiting Ireland who took it out for a spin and said the clutch is fine and is most likely spark plugs or the coil. He connected to the cars computer which flagged coil 3 and said there was raw fuel going in. This was during a trip home to Ireland so I’m back in the UK and can’t go to him.

I replaced the plugs and the coil that flagged as failing on his system but the issue is still there.

I’m still thinking clutch is the issue but hoping it’s something cheaper. My last trip to the mechanic for a service ended up costing 1300 quid so I’m a little hesitant to go with an unknown issue.

These are also happening so not sure if related:

Engine light has come on
Car shudders occasionally in neutral when electrics are on
Revs sit below 1000 in neutral
Clutch pedal feels normal
1st gear sometimes sticks

If there’s something I might be able to try before spending 1k on a clutch it would be greatly appreciated and thanks again if you made it this far!

 

[Burnerman]

There are some bizarre diagnostics going on here......if the engine revs increase without any increase in road speed then the clutch is indeed the issue. We only have the rev counter to trust with this.
Is first gear easy to use with the engine off? Clutch faults can give poor gear selection but only with the engine running.
This would not put any engine management lamps on - but plugs / coil failure most certainly would.
You need to have the diagnostic faults investigated.....a garage should use VCDS software (the old Vag Com) and this will throw up the trouble codes that are stored in the car's computer. These codes should be cleared firstly, and new ones that appear should give you some idea where the issues lie.
John

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Since November last year I suddenly noticed a drop in power when in 5th and 6th gear. The revs would be between 3000 and 4000 going at 80mph+ but suddenly it would feel like Iv lost all power and the revs would drop slightly but then climb up to almost 5000 with foot to the floor and going max 70 and struggles on any elevation.

The only way it can hit 5000 rpm, is for the clutch to slip, or the rev counter to indicate a wrong (too high) engine speed. Does it sound as if the engine is running at 5000? If it's the clutch, easing off on the accelerator, will allow the clutch to lock itself up, does it do that?